The Good Stuff
by Stabler 'n' Gibbs' Gurl
Summary: Song: The Good Stuff by Kenny Chesney . Warning ! established Tibbs so there is slash : don't like , don't read . Gibbs runs into a familar stranger who helps heal his demon.


Disclaimer : I'm sad to say I do not own any offical NCIS people or their sexy selves * ;) * of the song from Kenny Chesney . though I would LOVE to own him .. =) .. BUT I do own Dimitri the bartender. enjoy and tell me what you think i a review =)

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"Damn it, Tony, open up!" His shout could be heard from inside the apartment as Tony padded barefoot to the front door and tiredly unlocked the latches and pulled it open; all around the time of 1 a.m. His weary eyes turned wide with alert as Gibbs stormed past him and into the compact space of his living room. He watched as the man before him paced back and forth before abruptly stopping and turning his icy fierce glare upon him like he was a suspect in a triple rape/homicide. Tony didn't bother to flinch.

"Do we have a case or something?" He asked, hoping it to be work related, but knowing better than to think so.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" He asked incredulous as he watched Tony roll his eyes and turn towards the master bedroom. Catching his wrist in a painful grasp, Gibbs swung him around so his bare chest was flush against his wet leather jacket. Watching as his eyes went dark the same instant his fingers closed around his wrist, Gibbs' grip loosened on Tony's wrist by just a fraction of an inch.

"I was doing my job, Gibbs." Tony spatted as he ripped his hand back but didn't move from his position in front of him. Gibbs was searching his eyes for some form of weakness, some hint of a doubt, but the past 5 and a half months together told him the Tony could mask his better then the best. If there was any to begin with. Emerald eyes glaring back almost made Gibbs want to say _screw it…_ and just devour him right then and there, but how could he be so stupid?

"No, you were being an idiot! What the hell were you thinking?! Diving in _front_ of the bullet? And for me none the less?! Were you _trying_ to get yourself killed out there today?!" Gibbs asked incredulous as he stepped farther into Tony, who still didn't flinch at his attempt to intimidate him. But, instead, stepped right back into him, challenging him.

"So it's okay for you to step in front of a bullet, to take a knife to the shoulder for one of your own but not me? Do you want to choose that to be hypocritical or 'do as I say not as I do bullshit'?" Tony's eyes flared up menacingly for the first time Gibbs has ever seen since they started as sarcasm seeped threw his words like daggers.

"I'm a _Marine_! I'm trained to get shot and to deal with it. To get stabbed and still get the bastard. We take one for our families without a second guess. You, Tony, are _not_ a Marine!" Gibbs yelled as the rain drops coating his hair started to drip.

"No, I'm not a Marine." Tony stated making Gibbs give himself a small self-satisfied smirk only for it to be taken away again. "No, I'm not, but I am a Special Agent with around 14 years of experience underneath. I'm trained to follow my instincts, protect and provide for my team and partner, and to get the little fuckers that started this shit in the first place! So no, I may not be a God damn _Marine_, but I'm sure as hell not going to let some high school drop-out, drug-dealing pot head with a 44 caliber aim at my boss and my lover's head while I just stand on the sidelines. So yea, I took a bullet for you, big whoop! And I'd do it again and again and again if I had the chance."

"You could have been killed!" Gibbs screamed.

"So could have you!" Tony hollered back making Gibbs yell in annoyance

"You just don't get it! You disobeyed a direct order and nearly got killed disobeying said direct order!" Gibbs grabbed him roughly by the forearms, forgetting momentarily that one of the bullets hit his right one. Only the tight pained expression on Tony's face and an aggravated grunt made Gibbs look and concern and guilt instantly flashed in his eyes. But Tony didn't need it. Jerking out of his hold, Tony's good hand shot straight up to his arm and the anger was immediately back into his eyes.

"I didn't know saving someone was considered disobeying, _Boss_." He knew calling him that outside of work drove him crazy, especially in this type of personal situation, but still his eyes turned into slits and were smothered by his anger as he walked back to the open door. "Next time a bullet's aimed dead center on you forehead, so close you can feel the crosshairs lining up, I won't push you out of the way and make you stay on this earth a couple more years. If that's what you want fine." Gibbs followed him to the door and when Tony turned back around, all personal space was gone as they stood toe-to-toe.

"Next time you do something so completely and utterly stupid like that, _DiNozzo_, you can make sure to kiss this goodbye." Gibbs said as he referred to his job, but one look at Tony's face told him the he took it the wrong way and cold steel replaced his eyes. "Tony, no, I didn-"

"If it's going to be like that, then get the hell out. Now." Tony interrupted as his eyes showed nothing but his voice wavered just a millimeter. Gibbs looked at him in awe. This was the first Tony's kicked him out of his apartment, ever, but his anger flared up at the fact that this wasn't his fault. _He_ wasn't the one who jumped in front of a bullet.

"Fine." He hissed back as he stepped into the hall. Turning back to the door, the loud slam still echoed threw the hall as he stood face to face with the oak door of Tony's apartment.

Spinning on his heals; he stomped angrily down the hall to the stairwell and was down in the lobby in 2 minutes flat. Walking past Harold, the night manager, with a quick nod of his head, he pushed past the doors and towards the parking lot where the rain was finally letting up. Flipping out his keys, he pressed the unlock button and slid into the driver side of his bumblebee camaro. Jamming the keys into the ignition he floored the car in reverse and pulled a sharp left before heading to the city. He drove aimlessly for hours until he finally realized he was in familiar territory and 15 minutes later he pulled put to a little hole in the wall and clambered out. Grabbing the handle of the door, he entered the bars and was pleased to see it was empty this time of night. Or was it morning? Gibbs couldn't remember as he sashayed up to the bar and smiled at the bartender who smiled up at him from the other end of the bar. Taking a seat, the tune from the jukebox flowed to him before being paused.

_'Cause it's the first long kiss on a second date  
Momma's all worried when you get home late_

Abandoning the glass he was cleaning out, the bartender walked up to stand in front of him.

"What can I get ya?" He asked, his known smile dazzling making Gibbs smile back.

"The good stuff." He spoke gruffly but with a smooth under tone as his mind trailed back to when he first realized Tony was gay.

But he watched as the man in front of him got quiet, restarted the song, and went back to the glass he abandoned. Shaking his head he looked back to him as the lyrics flowed towards him.

_Well, me and my lady had our first big fight  
So I drove around 'till I saw the neon lights  
Of a corner bar, and it just seemed right, So I pulled up_

He was quite occupied with the dirty blond hair and greens eyes so close to Tony's that he and the other guy were about to walk straight into him. Turning to yell at the person they just ran into, he was pleasantly surprised to see a shocked Tony, in dark jeans and a tight red polo, hair tousled in a sexy bed-head way and his green eyes shining with mischief. The blonde, Kevin, who his arms were around at the moment, was kissing and nipping his collar bone and whispered into his ear that they should go. Tony's smirk had dimed before widening as he told them to go on and headed into the club, a very hot, very male, dark red-head already at his side. That following Monday at work when he walked into the elevator to see Tony leaning casually against the wall made him flick the switch and pounce.

_Not a soul around but the old barkeep  
Down at the end and looking half asleep  
But he walked up and said what'll it be?  
I said the good stuff._

"Can't get that here."

He looked at him with a confused expression before he turned and looked at the mirror behind the bar.

_He didn't reach around for the whiskey  
He didn't pour me a beer  
His blue eyes kinda went misty  
He said you can't find that here_

"Why not?" he asked, turning towards him once more, eyes ghosting over the bottles of bourbon and whiskey to see haunted eye stare back.

_'Cause it's the first long kiss on a second date  
Momma's all worried when you get home late  
And droppin' the ring in the spaghetti plate 'cause  
'Cause your hands are shakin' so much  
_

"Son, I've been in your shoes. You're Tony's guy right?" he asked but started right back up before he could continue. "They way you're looking right now, you're thinking if you still are. But it could be so much worse then what you two are going threw now."

_And it's the way that she looks with the rice in her hair  
Eatin' burnt supper the whole first year  
And askin' for seconds to keep her from tearin' up  
Yeah man, that's the good stuff_

"That kinda of stuff you want is right back with him. His laugh, his smile, hell, knowing Tony, even when he goofs up. When you're with him, there's no doubt that you want to hold him close. This crap," he said as he held up Gibbs' normal bottle of 15 year old bourbon. "This shit isn't good. Taste good, sure, but not the good stuff." He huffed as he turned his back to him and pulled a bottle of Pepsi from the refrigerator.

_He grabbed a carton of milk and he poured a glass  
And I smiled and said I'll have some of that  
We sat there and talked as an hour passed like old  
friends_

"I'll take one of them instead." Gibbs said with a smile as his finger traced the outer line of the coaster in front of him. Dimitri smiled back up at him before turning and grabbing another before they started off on their catch up. About an hour and a half later, his eyes started to wander around before settling on a picture strip from a mall. Dimitri, who looked about 10, 15, years younger was smiling and kissing a lone blonde haired woman who held such love in her eyes that a smile grazed along his mouth. Dimitri followed his stare and a sad smile pulled at him as well

_Saw a black and white picture and he caught my stare  
It was a pretty girl with mufont hair  
He said that's my Bonnie, taken about a year after we wed_

"That's my…"a chocking cough caught in his throat made him look away "that _was_ my Carla. She died a few years back." Tears sprung to his eyes but the will power inside him made them yield as his grip tightened on his bottle.

_He said I spent five years in the bottle when the  
cancer took her from me  
But I've been sober three years now  
'Cause the one thing stronger than the whiskey_

"After her death, I was a mess. Drank every night and most mornings. For about five or six years it went on like that. But for a few years now, I've been sober."

_Was the sight of her holdin' my baby girl  
The way she adored that string of pearls  
I gave her the day that our youngest boy Earl married  
his high school love_

"Didn't even touch campaign at my granddaughter's wedding. Couldn't do it, made myself promise to her. When she first died, I stayed by her side, morning and night, and one day she made me promise to stop, but watching as she passed in front of my eyes, in my own hands, I…I couldn't. But now I'm holding strong, just for her." His voice wavered every now and then but his eyes were sturdy now, promising.

_It's a new t-shirt sayin' I'm a grandpa  
Bein' right there as our time got small  
And holdin' her hand when The Good Lord called her up  
Yeah man, that's the good stuff_

Finishing off his soda and picking up Gibbs' empty bottle also, he shook his head at the 20 he tried to hand him and whipped down the counter.

"No, I won't take anything. What you can give me is going back to him." His hazel eyes burned as they gazed into his own. "You need him and he'll need you. When one of you say sorry, then you'll be able to move on. Don't hold onto grudges and the past."

_He said when you get home she'll start to cry  
When she says I'm sorry, say so am I  
And look into those eyes so deep in love  
And drink it up_

"Look him in those golden green eyes and tell him how you feel. I don't know what went down, or who said what, but when I saw him in here just a few days ago, he was the happiest I've seen him in, well, ever. So I'm not taking your money, just go back to him." And with that, he turned back to him and put the wash cloth in the sink.

_'Cause that's the good stuff_

Gibbs placed the 20 on the counter and all but ran out of the bar. Barely even in the car, he floored it onto the street, not caring if the light was green, yellow, or red. Pulling into an empty parking space out front if Tony's apartment not 25 minutes later, he ran to the door and was glad to see Harold still on shift, he knocked on the door and waited the 7 seconds it took him to buzz him in.

"Thanks." He called out as he jumped up the stairs, taking them 3 at a time. Once he pushed open the door to his floor, he slowed his speed and tried to regain his composure. Stepping up to his door for the second time this morning, he ran a shaky hand threw his hair and knocked softly on the oak twice. Hearing a cough from within and bare feet making contact with the wooden floor made his heart race a little bit more. Hearing him unlock the top hatch and the door locks, Gibbs looked up from his feet to see Tony stand before him once more, looking years different from just a few hours ago. His heart broke at the sight of the red rims around his eyes and all he wanted to do was rush forward and hold him tight. They stood there for a while before Tony opened his mouth and looked at his feet.

"So, umm, I think-" He muttered before being cut off by Gibbs who pulled him close and closed the door as they moved back into the apartment.

"I'm sorry, Tony. So very sorry. I was stupid and being a bigger ass than normal. I just can't lose you for something that was meant for me. I wouldn't know what I would do, how I would handle life with out you." He whispered into his neck, feeling Tony's tears stain his shirt as a silent sob racked his body. His arms clung tighter to the tan skin of his waist as his own tears came and fell. "God I love you. So damn much, Tony." He pressed a kiss right behind his ear.

"I…I love you too, Jet. Every second of every day." And with that he led him to the bedroom where they laid down, for the first time since they started, clothed and fell asleep in each other's arms. Gibbs smiled as he felt Tony tap his heart beat in his palm like every night and managed to drift off with his love curled into his side. His last thoughts made a smile come to his lips. His smile was warmed at the thought that he would wake up to not only his partner but his love and it was true as his mind drifted to the song Dimitri was playing at the bar and how him and Tony fit into that song perfectly. He didn't believe in coincidences but tonight, he didn't care because he had Tony and Tony was his life.

_That's the good stuff._


End file.
